


Analogies

by CorsetJinx



Category: Fate/EXTRA
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 17:48:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16123625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorsetJinx/pseuds/CorsetJinx
Summary: A slip of the tongue can be an unexpected thorn in one's side later. Worse still when one's own honesty proves to be too blunt a weapon. Jinako is a complicated Master. They still have much to learn from one another.





	Analogies

"Jinako." Karna shifted, looking down at the off-colored blanket covering his master. He couldn't see her face now that she'd pulled the cloth so high but something in the set of her shoulders gave him the sense that she was bothered. There was also the fact that she couldn't appear to focus on any one thing. She hovered between windows on her computer, clicking aimlessly on things only to close them out a second later.

The biggest indicator of all that something was wrong took the form of an unopened bag of chips she'd tossed away from her side just minutes ago. He'd stared, bemused, because those were her favorite brand of snacks and the Jinako Karna knew never threw away food.

Now he waited, listening to her soft huffs of breath accompanied by the occasional changes in position. She'd tugged up the blanket just after he'd entered the room, hunching down so that she resembled a dumpling.

"Jinako." Karna tried again, tentatively softening his voice. Normally the silence wouldn't have been so bad. He was used to it. But this... the air in the room did not feel right. It pressed in, weighing against his limbs like tar.

Perhaps it had been something he'd said.

"J- " Karna began, only to be cut off with a loud groan.

_"What?"_ Jinako turned her head just enough to glare at his feet, her mouth set into a tight line. Her jaw looked tense to him. As though she were restraining herself from saying more. "Is there something else you want to say?"

Lowering his eyes Karna crossed the room, stooping to pick up the discarded bag of chips. The plastic crinkled under his fingers, too loud in the otherwise quiet room.

"You haven't eaten." He pointed out. "It has been two and a half hours since you asked me to to go the store. Are you feeling unwell?"

Looking up Karna saw the twitch of Jinako's mouth before she could hide it. She turned away from him, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. The glare from her computer screen prevented him from making out her expression in the glass. When he tilted his head to try and peek under the blanket she turned herself away even more.

"I'm not hungry."

_Lie._ He sensed it. Felt it even, like a twinge from a suddenly put-upon muscle. Karna opened his mouth, words gathering on the tip of his tongue.

At the last second he tried to switch tactics. When he'd tried asking her directly about her feelings Jinako had gotten upset. It wouldn't help at all if he repeated the mistake.

"Do you no longer enjoy this brand?" Karna asked instead, rising up to his full, if slouched, height. His armor clinked as he closed the distance between them, stopping just short of her messy nest. "If so, I will return to the store and find something else. Would you prefer chocolates?"

Jinako liked all manner of snacks. Chips were just a preference, unless he'd misunderstood. Chocolate, however, was a special case as far as Karna understood. Most women liked it. Jinako always looked happy when she devoured it, cheeks rosy and her eyes a little brighter for a while afterwards.

"I _said_ I'm _not hungry_." Jinako groused. The clicking of her mouse picked up again. Windows and brightly colored things appeared and closed almost too quickly for Karna to keep track of them.

"What you said was a lie." He countered, unable to help himself. From how she tensed once he'd said it, Karna suspected it was the wrong thing to say.

He tried again, willing his tone to be gentler. "Is there something wrong, Jinako? Did I say something that made you upset?"

Karna did that often, though he did not always manage to find out why. Still, it would be easier for the both of them if they managed to get along. As Master and Servant, if nothing else.

...and really, he did not intend to hurt her feelings. He was trying to be more conscientious of his word choice.

"I don't know." Jinako muttered, closing in on herself even more. "Maybe I don't wanna look like a sea lion or whatever."

Karna blinked slowly. Then it clicked.

_Oh._ He really had messed up.

"I am sorry for using words that delivered a negative connotation to you, Jinako." Crouching down, careful that the spikes of his armor did not scratch the floor, Karna tried to coax Jinako into meeting his gaze.

"It was wrong of me to say." He added, feeling his hopes wane a little. "And I am sorry. Please eat, Jinako. You are a living person and need your strength."

Extending his hand he offered her the bag of chips. The blanket rustled as she turned her head just a bit .Enough to peek at him from the safety of her makeshift hood. It was poor armor, really, but it kept her expression from him and he found that not seeing her face was unpleasant.

Seconds passed in silence as neither of them moved. Karna felt his knees start to protest the awkward position and tensed his legs so that he wouldn't lose balance. It would hurt Jinako if he fell on her with his armor still manifested.

Then she tugged the bag out of his hand with a grumble, pulling apart the seam and fishing out a chip.

"You really _suck_ at communication, Launcher." She bit into her snack, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. This time he could see it, even if the reflection from her computer made her glasses shine a bit too bright.

"I shall try and improve." Karna offered after a beat of silence. He wanted to. Words were just fickle things. He'd never been blessed with them.

Jinako popped another chip into her mouth, relaxing in the way he was more familiar with. The tension left her shoulders as she reached for her mouse once more and opened a new page on her computer.

"I should have some soda left. Pass me one, will you?" She didn't look at him as she said it and Karna did not mind. When he passed her the beverage she hummed low in her throat, something close to a smile on her face. "You're still going out again, Launcher. You and your mouth distracted me from all the important work I was supposed to do."

_What important work?_ , a part of him wanted to ask. _Something for Hakuno?_

Instead he answered, "Yes, Master."

When she reached for another chip and bit down, eyes closing and cheeks puffing out in pleased happiness, she really did look adorable.

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after the scene where Karna compares Jinako to a seal or sea lion when she munches on her snacks. I'm still not overly familiar with the game itself, but I love these two and I'm disappointed with there being nothing for them.


End file.
